Adults only ceremony/reception

I'm doing something very similar (only inviting our nieces and nephews to the wedding. You're correct that--hopefully--everyone will get the message by just addressing the invitation to the people invited. Another thing a lot of posters on here do is put "We have received 2 seats in your honor" or "___ out of 2 attending" on their RSVP.

We're doing adults only. The only guest under 18 are 1st cousins.

We had the guest names already printed on the RSVP cards so they only had to check attending or not attending next to the names. No room to right any more in.... I thought... but people still did.

My partner's sister's reception RSVP card said, "Adults reception, kindly no children" at the bottom.

Love it. Thats what we're having.

I addressed the outer envelope as Mr and Mrs Smith. The inner I wrote John and Jane on it

And then I got really ballsy and snubbed my nose at etiquette....the reception card says......wait for it....."Please join us for an Adult Reception...." but I'm a rebel like that.

Adult only weddings are common. You can do what you suggested about only inviting the adults, or you could put "Adult ceremony and reception" on the invitations.

Either way expect some negative responces from people who have kids, or people who RSVP with their children. You will probably have to talk to some people that kids are not allowed so be prepared for that.

We are addressing the invitations to the parents only. Because s lot of people do not understand this to be a request to leave their children at home we have worded the reception invitation as an adults only reception.

We're addressing the invites to Mr & Mrs so and so and also including something like "Adult Reception to follow" on the invitations. We aren't huge fans of children.....

We are having an adult only wedding also. Our wedding is still 6 months away, but with so many out of town guests we knew we had to start early. We put in that the wedding was an adult event only in the welcome paragraph of our website. We have already began to get a few comments, but that's ok. We will also put something about it in the invitations.

From the brides inviting everyone from infants to 15 year olds, you're going to hear, "I couldn't imagine my wedding without all of the kids! They're so excited to be there". From the brides who want an adult event, you're going to hear, "I don't want kids running on the dance floor, crying during my ceremony, sticking their fingers into my cake, and making a nuisance of themselves". I'm of the opinion that kids don't really like weddings. In fact, I think they enjoy weddings as much as I enjoy a kid's birthday party. If you don't want them at your wedding, that is your choice. You don't need to apologize.

Beyond addressing the envelope to the two guests, make sure you hand write the number of seats you have reserved for them. If they arbitrarily add all of their kids on the RSVP -- and yes, people do this, all of the time -- call them immediately and explain it is an adult only event. If they try to convince you that their kids must come, tell them you'll understand if they have to decline. You have to be strong. Apparently, parents all over the country believe their kids have to attend every event they do -- unless it is work related. For some reason, they understand that their kids can't attend conventions or work related dinners. Go figure.

Dont even get me started on this! has been as source of stress in my planning. My advice is to stick to an age and keep it even across the board -- we decided 18 and older only regardless of relation. I am not a fan of young children at wedding receptions I think it is dangerous for them to be running all over as parents somehow find this false sense of secuity that they do not need to closely watch their children. Even with that rule we are getting requests to make exceptions. Just decide what you two prefer as a couple and stay strong!

Do everything that Centerpiece said and then arm your groomsmen with duct tape. (In your wedding colors of course.)

Kids do NOT like weddings, no matter what their parents, who will probably forget about them right after they arrive, think. Don't apologize, stay firm and let your guests take responsibility for finding care for their kids or not coming. I really don't get this idea that the sun and stars revolve around children. I like them too, but there are places they do not belong, and late, formal weddings with alcohol and distracted parents fall solidly into that category.

I'm doing this as well. I'm doing word of mouth through family mostly. I'm having people RSVP on my wedding website, so I will actually put in the names of those invited. This way people know who is invited, IE: no kids or extra guests. One of my cousins was upset about her children not being invited, but she will get over it or not come. We aren't fans of kids, we don't want anyone under the age of 21, and we're getting married on Halloween. We want to party.

Adults only for our wedding, except 2FG's and 2PB's. that's it. We haven't had any backlash off this request. We were lucky in that aspect of planning.

I agree with Centerpiece that most kids do not enjoy weddings. They're bored and they have no idea what is going on half the time. The youngest people we had at our wedding (solely out of family obligation) were Andre's two cousins who were 15 and 17 and looked absolutely MISERABLE in every photo and any time we saw them. We didn't write Adults Only on anything; we simply put the names of those who were invited on the invitation. We only had two people who tried to add their babies and we politely contacted them to tell them that it was an Adults Only event. It was absolutely a non-negotiable for us. My now-MIL tried to sway us but we held our ground and I'm so glad we did.

I agree with Centerpiece Floral above.... One of the primary purposes of marriage is children so I could never leave them out of the event. Seems ironic to enter into a sacrament that encourages children and then exclude them from the sacrament itself. JMHO

Sorry Wanda, the primary purpose of marriage, for most people, is not children though I understand this is a widely respected view. For a vast majority of couples, the primary purpose of marriage is a union between two loving people, children or not.

Most people invite the chilldren under 10 to the wedding and then most go to bed or leave before the reception starts or after the dinner. I wouldnt put the whole family on invitiations. You have to be very specific about who you are inviting and know how many seats you need to cater. That kind of opens if up for people to bring whoever they want. I would put their names specifically on the invitation.

We have children together and i also have eight brothers and sisters with age ranging from 6 to 30. We are having our children in the wedding plus having my siblings helping out and being in the grooms party and the bridal party. What we are doing is the kids have to leave after dinner. They will be able to dance and do some of the stuff with everyone. My things is after a while the kids get bored and start doing or getting into things they shouldn't. And with a lot of adults drinking and partying it gets to a point where it isn't good for children to be there. I also worked at a banquet hall for four years doing over 100's weddings and see from the working part what kids will do and how fast they get bored. I do know it is harder for out of town guest with children to leave them at home so depending on the guest list and the number of children you can do an adult only but be prepared for them to ask if they can bring there kids.